County plans water trail to make Chickasabogue Creek inviting to kayakers

View full sizeChickasabogue Creek as seen from a kayak on a recent morning. In an effort to make the creek more paddle-friendly, and therefore another asset in the region's lucrative paddle-sport tourism trade, the Mobile County Commission plans to turn Chickasabogue Creek into a water trail, marked by in-stream directional signs. (Press-Register/Robert McClendon)

MOBILE COUNTY, Alabama -- Paddling down Chickasabogue Creek, it is easy to get distracted by the wild beauty of the trees, branches of which reach out over the glass-smooth water to claim as much sunlight as possible.

It is also easy to get lost.

The creek’s twists, turns and tributaries all make for a spectacular kayak or canoe trip, but they make it downright difficult to navigate for a newcomer.

In an effort to make a paddle-friendly Chickasabogue -- and therefore another asset in the region’s lucrative paddle-sport tourism -- the Mobile County Commission plans to turn the creek into a water trail, marked by in-stream directional signs.

For the time being, the marked trail will be limited to the 2½ miles between Chickasabogue Park to the west and Brooks Park to the east. Each park will feature large-scale maps and interpretive panels.

At $3,800, the project is relatively inexpensive, so it could be easily scaled up in the future, according to John Rabbeitt, operations coordinator for Chickasabogue and an avid kayak fisherman.

A future leg upstream near Shelton Beach Road would add about 2 miles; another at Ala. 158 would add several more.

"The potential is enormous," Rabbeitt said. The creek is underutilized, given the pristine nature of the waterway and its easy access from the urban core of Mobile and the communities along Interstate 65, he said.

View full sizeJim and Barb Drew paddle up Chickasabogue Creek, which the Mobile County Commission plans to turn into a water trail. (Press-Register/Robert McClendon)

The project is the brainchild of George Crozier, retired head of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and a longtime advocate for increased use and access to aquatic recreation in Mobile County.

The county is blessed with spectacular natural waterways, Crozier said, but it has done a poor job of opening access to them and promoting them for recreation and tourism, he said.

He pointed to the success of birding tourism on Dauphin Island, which delivers an estimated $2 million annual economic impact. "There is not much doubt in my mind that the paddling industry could be just as big as the birding industry, if not bigger," Crozier said.

Paddle tourism is low-hanging fruit, in terms of economic payoff. Paddlers, as a group, have money to spend, yet capitalizing on the activity requires relatively little public investment.

According to a study by The Outdoor Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for outdoor recreation, 41 percent of people who kayak have six-figure incomes, as do 36 percent of people who canoe.

On the investment side, nature has already done the heavy lifting. The Mobile area boasts a unique mix of bayous, estuaries and open water, not to mention the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, one of the most biologically diverse places in the country and home to the Bartram Canoe Trail.

View full sizeJohn Rabbeitt Jr., operations coordinator for Chickasabogue Park, kayaks on the creek, site of a planned water trail for kayak and canoe enthusiasts. (Press-Register/Robert McClendon)

Between the Delta, nearby Point of Pines, and the massive marshes around Grand Bay, the region could become renowned for paddling, Crozier said.

Urban paddling routes such as Dog River, Three Mile Creek and Chickasabogue also abound, he said.

"We have the natural resources. It’s just figuring out how to exploit them to the point where we can grow ourselves as an ecotourism destination," said Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood, who financed the Chickasabogue project out of her discretionary money.

The potential was not lost on Jim and Barb Drew, Pittsburgh natives who recently moved to the Mobile area. In town only a week, they couldn’t wait to put their kayaks in the water to explore.

A recent morning found them paddling Chickasabogue.

"Oh my God, it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen," said Barb Drew. "Every place you look, you see more beauty." 